A Part of Two Worlds
by fbeauchamphartz
Summary: Sebastian comes home to find a hybrid curled up on the foot of his bed. He gets angry, thinking that his parents got him this hybrid as a pet, but the boy, a victim of prejudice and discrimination at his old school, ends up becoming Sebastian's friend. Will that change when they go to school together, and Sebastian's friend aren't as open-minded? Kurtbastian Kurt H. Sebastian S.
1. Not By Choice

"I didn't want a cat," Sebastian whined, dropping his backpack heavily on the floor and staring at the creature curled at the foot of his bed in disgust. "I wanted a dog, and even if I _did_ want a cat, I wouldn't want some messed up freak of nature like that!"

"Sebastian," his mother hissed, pulling her son out of the open doorway to his room and moving him out of earshot, "watch your language, young man! And he's not a pet. He's the son of a friend of your father's. He's going to be staying with us for the weekend."

"Does he have to sleep on my bed?" Sebastian groaned. "He's going to shed on all my stuff."

His mother sighed, shaking her head in frustration.

"I want you to be extra-special nice to him…"

"Well, good luck with _that_," Sebastian jeered, "because I'm going over to Sean's tonight…"

"You are not," his mother said firmly. "You will stay here and spend time with our new guest."

"What!?" Sebastian exclaimed, his jaw dropping and his eyes opening wide in shock. "No! I've been looking forward to this sleepover for a week! You can't do that!"

"Sebastian," his mom started, putting her hands on his shoulders and bending a bit to look into his eyes, "it's very important that you help out this weekend. That poor boy…"

"He's not a boy," Sebastian spat back.

"That poor _boy_," his mother continued, her voice becoming progressively more stern, "has just been through something horrible, and…"

The musical ring tone of her cell phone cut through their conversation and she straightened, reaching into her pocket to fish the phone out. She looked at the number on the screen and frowned.

"I have to take this," she announced, her eyes flicking back to her son, "we are _not_ done talking about this." She touched the screen to answer the call and stepped away from Sebastian to talk, "Hello…."

Sebastian peeked around the doorway to look back at the fur-covered boy lying on his bed, only the boy was no longer on the bed. He had climbed off and crawled into the corner. There he lay on the hardwood floor, curled into a tight ball, with his hands…or were they paws - they looked like perfectly normal human hands covered in soft, tawny fur – clasped over the back of his neck. The fact that he had moved meant that he heard every word that Sebastian said, and even though Sebastian normally couldn't care less, he felt like an ass.

Hybrids weren't uncommon, but they weren't really understood. No one could predict if a child in utero would be a hybrid. It happened in one out of every thousand or so births. Science hadn't been able to find any genetic links to hybridism whatsoever. So, as is the nature of human beings, since hybrids weren't understood, they were often feared. There was only one hybrid attending the private school that Sebastian went to, and even though he was a pretty cool guy (as far as Sebastian knew) no one really hung out with him.

Sebastian wondered how many friends this boy on his floor had. Probably not many if this horrible thing happened to him and he was hanging with the Smythes, considering Sebastian had never met this boy before in his life.

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there," Sebastian heard his mother say, and he knew that yes indeed they had reached the end of their discussion and no, he wouldn't be going to his sleep over. The phone beeped and the call ended.

"Alright, Sebastian, I have to get going…"

"Big surprise," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes.

His mother frowned at Sebastian, but his eyes stayed firmly fixed on the wall opposite so he didn't have to see his mother's displeasure.

"I have to meet your father and finalize some things…"

Her eyes drifted subconsciously into Sebastian's bedroom, and he knew that whatever needed to be _finalized_ had to do with this hybrid-boy. She caught a glimpse of the boy curled on the floor in the corner. She sighed deeply, turning her eyes to glare at her son, pointing at the boy silently with an expression on her face that very clearly said _fix this_.

Sebastian huffed and shrugged. Why this boy was even his responsibility he had no idea. He was fourteen. What the hell did they expect him to do?

"Well, I'm going to leave you and Kurt alone while I go run some errands," she said in an unnaturally raised voice so that the boy (Kurt? What kind of a name was Kurt?) could overhear without feeling the burden to respond. "You boys play nice."

Sebastian and his mother watched the boy nod without turning his face to look at them. Sebastian's mother shook her head.

"Poor thing," she repeated, ruffling Sebastian's hair in that way that she knew he hated, and then walked off down the hall.

There they were, together but separate, with Sebastian in the hallway and Kurt on the bedroom floor, pulling himself into a tighter ball, trying to look small and inconsequential.

Sebastian waited to see if Kurt would do anything else, and after a while he began to resent feeling like a stranger in his own room. He walked inside, taking heavy strides so as not to startle Kurt. He tossed off the blazer of his school uniform, letting it land on the floor in a heap, and jumped up onto his bed.

"Well, I just got back from school," Sebastian said in that unnaturally loud voice that his mother used, "so I'm going to play some XBox until dinner." He didn't invite Kurt to play. With his friends, he wouldn't have to. They'd already be scrabbling for the controllers and arguing over which game they wanted to play.

Kurt did none of those things. He lay completely quiet and still, so much so that Sebastian stared at his back for a long time in order to catch the rise and fall that would indicate that he was breathing.

He saw the swell along Kurt's spine and relaxed, not realizing that he had been holding his breath while he waited.

"Okay," Sebastian said, dismissing Kurt in favor of playing Assassin's Creed. "I bet you don't even play video games," he continued under his breath. "You probably just play with yarn and toy mice…"

Sebastian chuckled, so he almost missed Kurt's response.

"I play XBox."

Sebastian raised his eyes slowly from the screen in front of him and turned to the furry lump in the corner that had started to unfurl. Kurt slowly sat up, watery eyes staring at the boy on the bed, his bushy tail tucked up between his legs, the end cradled against Kurt's chest by his thin arms. Sebastian sat up along with him, mesmerized by the delicate cat-faced boy huddled in the corner – the boy with the most incredible sea blue eyes he had ever seen.

"You play, huh?" Sebastian asked, scooting over on the mattress, hoping that the boy might take the hint.

Kurt watched Sebastian move over and nodded, crawling in a graceful feline way up onto the bed.

"Yup," Kurt said.

"What do you play?" Sebastian handed Kurt a controller.

"Uh…" Kurt ducked his head, looking slightly embarrassed, "I play Minecraft and Plants vs. Zombies…"

Sebastian made a _pfft_ sound, teasing Kurt for his game selection.

"Well, my dad doesn't like violent games," Kurt defended, but he rolled his eyes to show Sebastian that he didn't share the same ideals as his dad.

"Too bad for him," Sebastian said, starting the game, "because all I have here are violent games."

Kurt chuckled, nervously picking at his tail as the opening scenes of the game began and the title screen came up.

They played quietly for a few moments before Kurt spoke again.

"I'm sorry they're making me stay in your room," he said, "and I'm sorry you're missing your sleepover."

A wave of guilt welled up in Sebastian's chest, but he had no intention of letting Kurt know.

"It's no biggie," Sebastian said. "I can go over there next weekend, I guess." Kurt bowed his head over his controller, seeing through Sebastian's lie. Sebastian chewed the inside of his cheek as he watched Kurt's face out of the corner of his eye. "Actually, my friend Sean snores," Sebastian said, "like a lawn mower."

Kurt giggled.

"Really?" he asked, lifting his head a little.

"Yeah," Sebastian continued, encouraged by Kurt's smile, "and my other friend Don, he farts in his sleep. Like, horrible."

Kurt laughed out loud and Sebastian found himself wanting to hear more of it.

"It always wakes me up in the middle of the night because it's really loud and it smells like something died." Sebastian puffed up his cheeks and blew out a vulgar raspberry through tightly pursed lips, and Kurt lost it, dissolving into a laughing fit that was part high-pitched giggles and part cat-like mews. Sebastian felt his entire chest grow warm on the inside as Kurt's eyes squinted shut and a tear rolled down his furred cheek.

"That's disgusting," Kurt gasped between chuckles.

"It is," Sebastian agreed. "So, see, I'd much rather be here playing Assassin's Creed with you."

Kurt's laughing died down as he looked into Sebastian's face with questioning eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Sebastian winked.

"Yeah," he said, bumping Kurt with his shoulder. He heard Kurt's breath catch at the touch and Sebastian froze, staring into clear, strangely hopeful eyes. Sebastian swallowed, his eyes returning quickly to the screen. "Now come on. We have ships to explore!"

They played in tense albeit companionable silence, cheering when they succeeded at a campaign, and urging each other on during the battles. Sebastian stole a glance at Kurt, his pointed pink tongue caught between his teeth as he concentrated on the melee they were thrown in the thick of. Something about the way Kurt kept his tongue trapped like that fascinated Sebastian, as did the sharp tips of short fangs indenting his lower lip. He suddenly worried that he might be staring, and knew for a fact he was when Kurt growled, "Come on, Sebastian! I'm getting mauled over here and your guy isn't even moving!"

"Right, right," Sebastian muttered, going back to the game. He tried to focus on beating the three guys surrounding him, but Sebastian didn't want to go back to the silence from before. Sebastian wanted to know more about Kurt. He seemed like a cool kid, all things considered. "You know, I never said I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for being kind of rude earlier…" Sebastian began, treading carefully, "and for whatever happened that…you know…"

Kurt's eyes drifted down to his controller and he sighed. He didn't press the buttons or move the joystick. He just stared with a blank expression in his eyes. He seemed stuck in a thought, or a memory, but he couldn't seem to move forward now that Sebastian had reminded him of it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sebastian asked, his voice soft in a way that even he hadn't heard before.

Kurt fidgeted where he sat, running his index finger up along the outside of the controller in his hands.

"My dad and I live in Lima," Kurt said, his tail twitching beside him, and then curling over his leg into his lap, "that's about two hours from here."

Sebastian nodded emphatically, as if the drive time between Lima and Westerville was pertinent information. He waited patiently for Kurt to continue.

"I go to public school…" Kurt spoke down to his controller. "My dad owns a tire shop."

Kurt paused.

"What does your mom do?" Sebastian asked. It was an innocent enough question…at least so he thought.

Kurt's head bowed lower.

"I don't have a mom. She died when I was eight."

"Oh," Sebastian said, so quietly he thought maybe Kurt didn't hear. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Kurt didn't look at Sebastian, but he shrugged.

"That's alright. Like you said, you didn't know."

Kurt raised a hand to his cheek and brushed away a tear.

Sebastian saw another tear follow it, but Kurt didn't move to wipe this one off his cheek.

Sebastian's hand flexed, itching to reach out and do it for him.

"I just found out a few days ago that I got the lead in the school musical," Kurt said, a small, wistful smile creeping onto his face.

Sebastian copied that smile, but wider.

"That's great!" Sebastian clapped Kurt on the shoulder and shook him gently, trying to bring him out of his funk. "A lot of schools wouldn't…"

Sebastian stopped short, afraid of sticking his foot in his mouth again, and Kurt rushed to fill in for him.

"Not a lot of schools would," he agreed. "My school is trying to be more progressive, so they started with me."

Sebastian still had his hand on Kurt's shoulder. Since it seemed okay, he didn't want to let go.

Sebastian's smile dropped suddenly.

"But wait…" he said, "I'm confused. Isn't getting the lead in the school musical a good thing?"

Kurt nodded before he spoke.

"I thought so," he said. "Other people…not so much."

Both boys went still. Sebastian wasn't entirely sure what Kurt was getting at, but something in his chest started to hurt.

"What…what did they do?"

Kurt swallowed so hard Sebastian heard it, along with the tiny whimpers that followed as he bounced back and forth between trying to speak but also trying not to cry.

"They wrecked my dad's shop," Kurt said, his voice wavering as he started to lose his personal battle, "roughed him up a little."

Sebastian sucked in a breath.

"Oh, Kurt," he said.

"He's alright," Kurt hurried to say while he still had the strength, and to erase the sound of pity from Sebastian's voice. "He's in the hospital, for overnight observation and stuff. But I guess the guys who did it threatened me and now…"

Kurt lifted his head to meet Sebastian's eyes, the rims wet with tears he didn't want to let fall.

"Now what?"

Sebastian didn't like to press Kurt, but he needed to know how this was going to end.

He wanted to know that Kurt would be alright.

"Now we move out here," Kurt said. "Your parents are helping us find a house, and I think I'm going to your school now."

Sebastian smiled, but Kurt didn't smile back.

"That's great!" Sebastian rallied on. "Dalton is an excellent school. You'll love it there." Sebastian wanted Kurt to be excited about going to his school. It had an exceptional arts program, a kick ass choir, and best of all, a no-tolerance bullying policy. Kurt would be safe, and he would have a great time there, once he gave it a chance.

But Kurt looked less than thrilled, and it seemed that the happier Sebastian looked, the sadder Kurt looked.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked.

Kurt sniffled, his attempts at hold back his tears failing.

"I'm sure you go to a great school, Sebastian," Kurt explained, "but I like _my_ school. I shouldn't be forced to leave. It's not…it's not fair."

Sebastian felt ashamed for being so happy, for thinking that going to Dalton was an equitable solution to Kurt's problem. In actuality, there shouldn't even be a problem. Kurt shouldn't be threatened for something he can't change or control. By all means, Kurt should go to the school he wants, and be in the school musical if he wants, and become the star quarterback or the Prom King, if these are things that he wants.

"I…" Sebastian felt like he should say something – something witty and smart that would make it all better, like in the end of those old 80s sitcoms on Nick at Night, where everyone's problem is solved in thirty minutes. The bullies always see the error of their ways, the community comes together in support of the oppressed, and one sage person - the one everyone should have listened to all along - says one last line that ties the lesson all together.

Sebastian searched his head for such an inspirational line, but there was none, so all he said was, "That sucks!"

Kurt chuckled, sniffling again.

"I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better," Sebastian admitted.

"There is," Kurt said.

"Name it," Sebastian said, "anything. Want to order a pizza – done. Want to slide down the bannisters – done. Need me to kill someone…" Sebastian removed his hand from Kurt's shoulder, made it into a fist, and punched into his other hand, "just tell me who."

Sebastian tried to look intimidating, but he couldn't keep a straight face, and Kurt laughed.

"No," Kurt said, rolling his eyes, "can we keep playing? It keeps my mind off it."

"Yeah," Sebastian said, "no problem."

Sebastian restarted the game, readjusting himself on the bed. He didn't know what possessed him, or why he thought he should, but right when the game started and the characters began to move, he darted over quickly and kissed Kurt on the cheek.

"Onward to glory!" Sebastian crowed to keep from turning back around and seeing Kurt's reaction, which Kurt appreciated since he couldn't stop blushing.

They played on for the next few hours, but this time they talked. Sebastian, still in his school uniform (which Kurt grimaced at, saying he found it parochial and bland), told Kurt all about Dalton – his favorite teachers, his favorite subjects, and the lacrosse team which he hoped to someday become captain of. Kurt told Sebastian about his high school, McKinley – about Glee club, the musical, and how last week his home ec partner almost burned down their station trying to make pâté.

Playing video games turned into ordering pizza, which turned into watching some lame sci-fi movie on pay-per-view, but as the night stretched on, it seemed like all the adults had forgotten about them. An exhausted Kurt and Sebastian lay side by side on Sebastian's bed to finish talking while their eyes grew heavy and everything became funny as their sentences made less and less sense.

"Kurt," Sebastian said to his new friend's serene face and closed eyelids, "I know this all blows, you having to go to Dalton and everything, but I'm kind of glad, too."

"Mmm," Kurt said back, "I'm kind of glad, too. But only a little glad…and only because of you."

"Good," Sebastian said, letting his eyes drift shut.

There was a long silence. Sebastian was sure that Kurt was asleep, but then he murmured, "Sebastian?"

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"Are you going to kiss me again?"

Sebastian's eyes opened. Kurt's stayed shut, but he was smiling.

"Do you want me to?" Sebastian asked.

Sebastian waited with his eyes open.

"Mm-hmm," Kurt said with a subtle nod.

Sebastian inched forward close enough to feel Kurt's breath against his mouth, and the fur on Kurt's body – incredibly soft and radiating heat – covering his skin.

Sebastian leaned in and kissed Kurt on the lips. It wasn't anything too ambitious, but it was nice, and Sebastian left it at that.

"Good night, Kurt," Sebastian whispered, but Kurt was already asleep. In seconds, Sebastian was, too.

When Lydia Smythe returned to her son's room, she wasn't too hopeful. The lights were switched off and the room completely dark. She cursed under her breath, sure she would find her son asleep in his comfortable bed while that poor boy was still camped out on the floor without even a blanket to cover him.

"Dammit, Sebastian," she grumbled, "I told you to play…"

The word _nice _never came out past her lips, lost behind her smile when she saw her son and Kurt lying in bed, face to face, with Sebastian's arms linked in Kurt's arms and Kurt's tail wrapped around Sebastian's waist.

She clapped her hands beneath her chin and backed slowly away.

"Promising," she said, patting herself on the back as she skipped away, "very promising."


	2. A Stranger in a Strange Place

Westerville was way more quiet at night than Lima ever was. Of course, it might only have seemed that way because on the enormous and secluded estate where the Smythe's lived there was no public access road running anywhere near the main house, so the sounds of cars driving by or the glaring intrusion of headlights shining through the windows were not things that disrupted the household while it slept. It was a welcome change for Kurt to be able to succumb to sleep so completely, but the peace and the silence gave Kurt's unconscious mind nothing to distract him from revisiting the events that led to his impromptu sleepover in Sebastian's room.

Kurt's dream started out innocuous enough, with him seated at the kitchen table, serving up a breakfast of egg whites and whole grain toast that he ate more or less by himself while his father shuttled back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, getting ready for work. But examining it now – seeing the scene from an almost third-person perspective – Kurt should have known something was not right. His dad seemed unsettled, nervous even. What Kurt had originally thought was his father stubbornly unwilling to sit for a meal that didn't have bacon in it (a constant argument they had) was more like him _unable_ to sit still.

Kurt's father, Burt Hummel, knew something was wrong, he just hadn't told his son about his fears, and that made Kurt wonder. Had his dad gotten a phone call or a text message? Were there more threats than the ones Kurt knew about? How much warning did his father have about the attack before it took place? Was being attacked even a possibility in his mind?

Kurt assumed that his feline senses (the ones he had been born with that made him a bit more perceptive than non-hybrid humans) would have tipped him off to his father's agitation, but Kurt had hardly slept the night before - so excited over his part in the school musical and nervous about memorizing his lines and his songs. It wasn't simple vanity and his perfectionist attitude that kept him awake with these anxieties tying knots in his stomach. It was absolutely imperative that he perform his part well.

Kurt didn't think that he would be stricken with stage fright, but then again, he had never had a solo or a role that meant as much as this one did. During most McKinley performances, Kurt could usually be seen swaying in the background, or sometimes he was kept out of sight altogether. All hybrid students were cast as the face in the crowd behind the really tall guy, the understudy's understudy, or the second string athlete who was kept on the way far end of the bench and never given the chance to play. But now _he_ had the spotlight, and he was anxious that all eyes would be on him. He wanted to prove that he could do this – that he was leading man material, that being a hybrid meant nothing when it came to acting. He wanted to show all those people who believed in him enough to give him this opportunity that he was worth the risk.

But more than anything, he wanted to make his father proud. Kurt realized that he put his father through so much trouble by wanting to be in the limelight, needing to be seen, dissatisfied with accepting less than what other _normal_ students got simply handed to them. Kurt Hummel had earned this role, but he owed it almost entirely to his father, and he would dedicate his performance to him.

Fast forward ahead and he was walking through the halls at school. A few narrowed eyes watched him as he strutted proudly to his locker, but that wasn't unusual. He always seemed to have a bull's eye on him, but thankfully there were only ever a few shots fired on school grounds – an extended foot here to trip him as he passed, a rough shove from a crowd of letterman-jacketed jocks that sent him into the lockers, a Slushie thrown in his direction. Those were the worst. Ice cold Slushies felt like a slap in the face with a bag of razors, not to mention that the sugary syrup was almost impossible to remove from his fur. But on this day, nothing happened - not even a mocking meow or a curse word hissed in an anonymous voice - and as much of an alarm as that should have been, Kurt was too relieved for once to have a day off from the abuse to notice.

Naïvely he had begun to think that landing that role had earned him some respect around McKinley…or maybe even a pass. The school as a whole would start getting more attention because of him, which meant the possibility of better funding. It was a win-win, not just for hybrids, but for everyone.

That was his spin on it, at least – an argument that he had hoped would keep him from being tossed in the dumpsters.

Another fast forward and Kurt looked up from his French textbook to see Mr. Schue walking down the hall, presumably coming for him. Kurt smiled when he saw his favorite teacher approach, sure that Mr. Schue was pulling him from class to work on musical related business, but the moment he looked into his Glee club teacher's eyes, Kurt knew. He knew that something was terribly wrong, and that it had to do with his father. He could feel it the way he felt an oncoming rain storm or the threat of snow. It filled his body with its chill resonance and made his tail bristle and twitch.

French class was third period so at least he didn't dawdle through the whole day obliviously before he found out about his dad.

At one point in his dream, Kurt imagined he was at the shop when the mob came for his dad – when they beat him up and arrogantly destroyed their livelihood. Kurt heard the threats thrown at him the way his father recounted them to the police when he thought Kurt was in the hallway and out of earshot.

_Teach your mutant son his place, Hummel._

_Who does he think he is, anyway?_

_You should have drowned him at birth with the rest of the strays. Or sold him to the circus._

_Why are you letting that freak of yours take what belongs to the real students?_

_Either your son leaves McKinley on his own, or we make him leave._

Kurt had slid down the wall and covered his face with his hands, biting into his palm to keep himself silent, not wanting his father to know for the life of him that he had overheard. Kurt's heart broke at the thought of leaving McKinley, of never seeing the few people he could call friend again, and of giving up his one great success, but he couldn't live without his dad.

His dad was the only family Kurt had left. Kurt couldn't even imagine a world without his father in it.

Kurt sat and listened to his father talk to the police, listened to him ask, "Isn't there anything you can do?" and heard (unsurprisingly) that no, there wasn't a single, solitary thing.

Because even though his father could identify every single man who laid a hand on him, there would be more threats to come, and the police simply didn't have the resources to spare to protect one hybrid boy.

Or they just didn't care.

Kurt listened as Burt and Mr. Schue talked, heard how his Glee teacher had been willing to put his job, maybe even his life in jeopardy, to help protect Kurt, but Burt wouldn't hear of it. As it was, even with Kurt gone, Mr. Schue might still end up sacrificing those things. Once the angry ignoramuses of Lima didn't have Kurt or Burt to bully, they would turn their anger on anyone else who had anything to do with Kurt getting that part in the musical, and Mr. Schue was on the top of that list. He had been the most vocal, the most demanding. Mr. Schue had been the one who started the campaign to get Kurt the right to audition for the role. He had gone to the principal of the school, and then the school board, and when they didn't listen, he went to the papers and the local news.

Mr. Schue had stuck his neck out pretty far for Kurt, especially considering his new wife and their new baby.

Kurt thought about all of these things as he heard them – how everyone's lives would be forever damaged because of him – and he began to weep. For the first time in his life, he didn't wish for better for himself, for the revenge of success to solve his problems.

He wished that he could just disappear.

All of his life, Kurt was considered one of the luckier hybrids. Lots of times, hybrid babies were born prematurely, and didn't survive their first year.

Maybe things would be better if that had happened with him.

Kurt's soft, pained mewling woke Sebastian from a relatively untroubled sleep. He felt the bed shift, like the listing of a boat back and forth, as Kurt struggled within his dreams. Sebastian tried to wake up to comfort his miserable friend, but the bed went still again and Sebastian thought Kurt might have found a way back to pleasanter dreams. A few minutes later, Sebastian shivered with cold – the heat from Kurt's tail covering his body suddenly absent. Even though Sebastian had his comforter over him, the difference was notable.

"Kurt?" Sebastian murmured, too tired to open his eyes, too comfortable to move. "Kurt, are you okay?" Sebastian heard more mewling, and the chattering of teeth as Kurt tried his best to answer. Sebastian pried his eyes open – physically having to lift his fingers to his face and push up his heavy eyelids – to scan the dark room for signs of Kurt. On his second sweep of the room, as his vision adjusted and his eyes became more focused, Sebastian found Kurt curled up in the corner on the floor, in the same spot he had retreated to earlier when Sebastian had been such an ass to him. Kurt's blue eyes glowed in the dark, staring up at the bed where Sebastian lay.

"I…" Kurt started, but he was still caught in the sleepy mentality of fear that had forced him into this corner, and he said no more.

Sebastian sighed, not out of frustration, only because he was tired, but it caused Kurt to curl his tail around himself and try to look smaller. Sebastian saw the movement, saw Kurt's eyes become dim in the blackness around them. Sebastian wanted to soothe him but he didn't know what to say. He had never been good with putting words together in a way that would make someone feel better. Most of the time he really couldn't be bothered, which in a lot of ways explained the company he kept at school - all snarky, cynical boys from wealthy, emotionally distant families, making up a pack of kids who constantly put up a front, who didn't talk about their feelings, and who didn't particularly care about anyone else's.

That was one of the reasons why this rather abrupt fondness Sebastian had developed for this hybrid boy bothered him. If he had met Kurt in school, surrounded by his friends, Sebastian would have been polite-ish to Kurt's face, but behind his back Sebastian would have ripped Kurt apart for being a public school nobody. Sebastian definitely would have had no intention of getting to know him, and would have directed him to the other hybrid boy on campus (Mark? Marco? Neil?).

But being with Kurt alone here in his room was something different entirely. He could probably chalk it up to sympathy, of course, but that would be a cop out. Sebastian knew nothing about Kurt…but he wanted to. He tried not to think of it - not now when he needed to get back to sleep. Morning was only a few short hours away, and then he would be forced to deal with his feelings more, but for now, Kurt needed somebody, and Sebastian was the only person available.

Besides, he liked the idea of Kurt needing _him_.

Sebastian yawned and pulled himself out of bed, tugging at his comforter and gathering it up into a ball in his arms.

"It's alright," Sebastian said, walking slowly to the corner where Kurt hid. "It's alright if you're scared. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"I…sort of…" Kurt swallowed hard. He had told Sebastian the bare bones of what happened to him and his dad, but there were other things, darker things, that he didn't want to mention. "I've never spent the night alone," Kurt muttered from behind his curled tail.

"You're not alone," Sebastian said, covering Kurt in the rumpled comforter, and then climbing underneath with him. He turned, shifted, rolled on his side, and then finally found a way to wrap himself around Kurt that wasn't too awkward. Kurt giggled at his sleepy friend's efforts to get comfortable. "I'm not going to let you be alone. I promise."

Kurt nodded, watching Sebastian settle beneath the blanket on the cold, hard floor. Kurt didn't know how much of Sebastian's profession was him being mostly asleep, or him being nice. Well, probably not him being _nice_ considering how much of a jerk he was earlier. Sebastian didn't seem like the kind of boy who went out of his way to be nice to anyone without some amount of persuasion…or outright threats. But they'd only known each other less than a day and here they were snuggled up on the floor together. It confused Kurt. Kurt's friends at McKinley – even the few who were sincerely protective of him – were hard to win over at first. Even then, they hid their disdain for him more skillfully than Sebastian had. Did Sebastian like him? Did he possibly…_like_ _him_ like him? Or maybe (and Kurt hated to think this way) Sebastian could be affectionate with him because it was easy for him to forget that Kurt was human.

Sebastian said he didn't want a pet cat, and that was fine because Kurt didn't want to be treated like a pet. He wasn't a pet – he was a person. That's what all this angst and strife was about – needing to be accepted for the human he was, and not despised for the cat that was only a part of him.

But how would Kurt ask him? _Should_ he ask him? Was he assuming too much?

Kurt stopped his mind from wandering down this avenue of budding teenage relationships and immediately felt guilty. His father was in the hospital. At present, they had no home, no source of income, and here he was worried whether this handsome boy with his body wrapped around his might like him.

Yet still…

His mother always said that an unasked question was a lost opportunity.

Kurt heard Sebastian's breathing turn slow and even, and Kurt feared that Sebastian might be asleep before he thought to ask.

"Sebastian?" Kurt whispered. The boy sniffed but he didn't open his eyes. He smiled lightly, seeming content to lie beside Kurt, and Kurt hated the thought of waking him just to satisfy his own petty curiosity. "Sebastian?" Kurt said a little louder, promising to stop if Sebastian didn't wake up this time. Sebastian shifted beside him, tilting his head up to follow Kurt's voice, but kept his eyes shut.

"Yeah?" Sebastian muttered. Kurt felt Sebastian's breath puff into his fur, reaching down to his skin, making him tingle where it touched.

"Are we…" Kurt bit his tongue between his sharp fangs, mulling over the many ways to phrase his question, "are we friends?"

Sebastian smirked with eyes still closed.

"Of course we are, stupid," Sebastian said. "What made you think we weren't?"

"Nothing," Kurt said, "I just…"

Sebastian wound an arm around Kurt's waist and pulled himself closer, and Kurt's voice stopped in his throat. Kurt watched Sebastian's smirk fade as his face relaxed again, and Kurt decided not to ask any more questions. Sebastian might second think what he was doing and move back to the bed, and Kurt didn't want to sleep alone tonight, despite all the butterflies launching in his stomach. Sebastian said they were friends, and that made Kurt's heart glad; it relieved his burden and his heartache…for now. But they were alone. Sebastian's affection for him could change once they left his room. Kurt rested down beside Sebastian and sighed. He closed his eyes and tried to find sleep again, but thoughts of school and mobs and strangers judging him kept one thought niggling in his mind - would this friendship survive when school began?


	3. Thing One and Thing Two

**A/N:** _Warning for angst and derogatory remarks._

"Se-bas-tian…wakey-wakey…"

Sebastian groaned at the obnoxious voice singing right by his ear, prodding his brain.

"Go 'way," he muttered, turning on his side and away from the taunting menace trying to wrench him from a not-exactly-sound sleep. It might not have been a restful sleep, he might have cramps torqueing the muscles along his spine, he might have a bruise starting on his left knee from where it pressed against the hardwood floor all night, but it had still been a pleasant sleep, with his new friend lying next to him, silky fur brushing against his skin, and a long feline tail wrapped around his waist. Sebastian didn't need anyone taking that away from him, not yet, especially when Kurt was still snoring gently.

"Se-bas-tian…" the voice persisted, a toe nudging him in the soft skin of his flank. "That was a dick move, not showing up to my sleep over last night." A foot kicked Sebastian in the ribs, harder than playful.

"Hey!" Sebastian cried, bolting upright with a hand massaging the sore spot on his side. "Watch…" Sebastian stopped when he heard the snores beneath the blanket become whimpers, sitting still till they settled back into snores again. "Watch it," Sebastian scolded in a hushed voice. He glared up at the freckled face and copper hair of his best friend Sean, who looked down at him with a raised brow.

"Yeah," came the voice of a dark haired, husky boy behind Sean, "and you didn't even call. What the fuck was that about?"

"I was busy, Don," Sebastian answered, scooting on the floor to keep his body between his two oldest friends and the hybrid boy snoozing beneath the blanket. "Besides, I really didn't think you would miss me with most of the lacrosse team there."

"Well, you know, it's not a real party unless Sebastian Smythe shows up," Sean said, curiously examining the comforter bunched on the floor, the fabric moving rhythmically up and down, up and down.

"How the fuck did you two losers get in here?" Sebastian asked.

"Emily let us up," Sean said, crouching down closer to Kurt's shrouded body than Sebastian liked. "You know, I think she's got a sweet spot for me." He winked, and Sebastian yawned.

"I think she's tired of your pathetic flirting and she wanted to get rid of you," Sebastian said, "and sending you up here was the fastest way to do it."

"I've got a way with women," Sean remarked.

"Since when?" Sebastian asked, plying to keep Sean's attention on him.

"Since forever," Sean said smugly, reaching for the edge of the comforter. "I've been told that I have a certain _je ne sais quoi_."

"By who? And your cousin doesn't count," Sebastian countered, swinging out and slugging Sean in the arm before he could lift the blanket. Sean snapped his hand back, looking annoyed but in no way deterred.

"So, what's the deal, Sebastian?" Don asked, squatting on the floor in front of his friend. Sebastian unfolded, stretching, recovering from the fetal position he was locked in most of the night. "Why the no show?"

"We had company last night," Sebastian said, thinking quickly, "so my mom asked me to stay." He had wanted to ease Kurt in to meeting his friends, but now that they were here, Sebastian didn't want to introduce them at all. Sean was an intolerant kid from an intolerant family. Being accepted into his 'inner circle' was like vying for membership to an exclusive country club – one that had strict requirements for acceptance. As nice as Kurt was, he probably wouldn't make the cut. Even if he wasn't a hybrid, Sebastian didn't expect that Kurt's father had enough money for their family to be considered important in Sean's opinion. Now Don, he would be cool about Kurt, but he tended to be a follower, and six times out of ten he followed Sean, almost blindly.

Besides, Sebastian couldn't just throw this on Kurt, not after his ordeal, and not without giving him a chance to prepare for the questions they might ask…or the comments Sean might make. Sebastian started to stand, figuring he'd take the two boys out into the hallway and give them some excuse…until Kurt's tail twitched, then slid out from under the blanket.

"Oh ho ho!" Sean cheered when he saw it. "I think I've got this figured out." He pulled the comforter back roughly, exposing Kurt in one swoop. "Oh, how sweet! Did Sebby get himself a pet kitty cat?"

"He's not a pet," Sebastian growled, tugging the comforter back over Kurt and tucking him in it. "His name is Kurt, and he's going to be staying with us for a while. He's transferring to Dalton."

"Really?" Sean said, his lip curling in distaste. Sebastian grabbed Sean's arm and walked him toward the bedroom door, trying to get him out of Kurt's earshot even though Kurt seemed out for the count.

"No shit," Don said, more lively than his companion, following Sebastian and Sean to the doorway. "That's awesome. He can make friends with…with…" Don snapped his fingers as he tried to remember. "With what's his name."

Sebastian scowled but he couldn't really shame Don since _he_ couldn't remember the name of the poor hybrid kid at Dalton, either.

"That's great and all," Sean said, yanking his arm free from Sebastian's grip, "but I've got the whole day planned. My dad's gassing up the ATVs and loading them in the trailer as we speak, so get your ass dressed and let's bail."

Sebastian looked over at Kurt – or the lump that was Kurt snuggled beneath Sebastian's comforter on the floor - then back at his two friends. Sebastian loved riding ATVs with the guys. It was the closest he'd get to driving a real car till the end of the year, which was when his dad promised to take him for his learner's permit. Add to that racing through the mud and, in general, bullshitting with his friends, and it was pretty much his favorite thing ever. But Sebastian knew Sean well enough to know that his invitation did not extend to Kurt. Sebastian couldn't just leave Kurt. Not after everything he'd been through.

"You know," Sebastian said, "I think I'm gonna pass this time."

Sean scoffed in surprise. "Why in hell would you do that?"

"Because I'm going to spend the weekend with Kurt," Sebastian explained, peeking over his shoulder to make sure Kurt was still asleep. "But you guys are welcome to hang here for a while. You know, and meet Kurt."

"Uh…no," Sean said. "I have plans, and I'm not changing them for you or your new pet. So lay out some paper, leave him a dish of kibble, and let's gooooo."

Sebastian cringed at that remark, hoping Kurt, who had had a rough night, was too asleep to hear.

"Look…" Sebastian wanted to believe that deep down, Sean was a decent kid, but Sebastian had been hoping that for years now, and it hadn't happened yet. Sebastian didn't know why, but Sean changed. He was always kind of a conceited jerk – their whole group was to a degree - but Sean's bigoted attitude in particular seemed to soar through the roof once they entered Dalton. "He's a cool kid, and he's going through some real awful shit, so if you don't want to stay, that's fine, but I'm going to hang with him this weekend."

"When did Sebastian Smythe start caring so much about other's people's shit?" Sean asked with as much skepticism as sarcasm.

Sebastian shrugged. He didn't really have an answer for that. To be frank, he didn't know why Kurt moved him the way he did. On the surface, they seemed to have nothing in common, and the likes they did share were shallow at best. And Sean was right – Sebastian was one of the last people who would volunteer to play nursemaid because of somebody else's tragic sob story. He never had before. That was something he and Sean had in common. Sebastian always figured they got along so well because, even though they practically grew up together, they never bothered each other with personal shit.

But looking back at the few times when Sebastian could have used a shoulder to lean on, could have used a _best friend_ by his side, their mutually agreed upon emotional detachment made their friendship feel…empty.

"You know, Sebastian," Sean said, becoming suddenly serious, "if you pick your freak friend over us this time, there might not _be_ a next time."

Sebastian's brow furrowed as he stared in disbelief at his supposed friend. "Why are you acting like such an asshole, Sean?"

"Why are you acting like such a dick, Sebastian? Unless…" Sean put his hands up to his mouth, a grin curling behind them, his eyes growing wide. "Oh…my…God! Are you thinking of hitting that?"

Sean dissolved into a fit of laughter, smacking Don in the stomach, assuming he would follow, and Sebastian clenched his jaw tight. His kneejerk reaction was to vehemently deny it, but somehow that seemed mean to Kurt. His other instinct was to punch Sean in the jaw, but that wouldn't end well, even if he deserved it. Sebastian didn't need to justify himself to Sean, especially since no matter what he said with regard to his feelings about Kurt, Sean would twist his words around.

And Kurt…poor Kurt, huddled on the floor. He shouldn't be subjected to this, even if he wasn't aware of what was going on.

Before Sebastian could come up with a way to defend himself, Sean started up, his voice getting louder till Sebastian knew Kurt had to be awake beneath his comforter on the floor.

"Well, well, well," Sean said, "I have to say, Sebastian, I really thought you could do better. Or at least maybe you could _buy_ better."

"Shut up," Sebastian hissed, Don standing silently beside them, his face drawn.

"Are you really that desperate to lose your v-card that you're willing to fuck a furry?" Sean snickered.

"Shut…up...Sean," Sebastian said, dropping his tone, making it sound like a threat.

"I didn't think you'd swing that way," Sean continued, laughing again in earnest, "but I guess that's one way to get yourself some pussy."

"That's it," Sebastian said, pushing Sean further out into the hallway. "Get out."

Sean laughed harder, but his laughter stopped dead in his mouth when he realized he was the only one laughing. He looked at Don's pale face, his brown eyes focused inside Sebastian's bedroom, and then back at Sebastian. "Are you…are you kidding me?"

Sebastian crossed his arms in front of his chest and blocked his bedroom door. "Does it _look_ like I'm kidding to you?"

"You're really throwing us out of your house?" Sean asked with a fading, incredulous chuckle.

"Nope. I'm throwing _you_ out," Sebastian clarified, glancing at his other friend. "Don, you're welcome to stay."

Don nodded dumbly, finally tearing his eyes away from the spot in the bedroom where they'd been glued.

"Sebastian…" Sean put a hand condescendingly to Sebastian's shoulder, but Sebastian shrugged it off. "We've known each other since kindergarten, man. Are you really telling me you're going to brush me off…for this freak?"

"What I'm telling you is that I'm tired of being friends with you when all you do is act like an ass," Sebastian declared. "And stop calling him a freak. His name's _Kurt_."

"Oh, really?" Sean mocked, but the expression in his eyes looked vaguely hurt. "When did you become Mr. High-and-Mighty? You've only known him, what? A day?"

"Yeah," Sebastian agreed, "and I already know that I like him better than you, so get out."

The hall became quiet, and two conflicting sets of eyes stared Sebastian down. Sean looked on the edge of screaming or storming off. Sebastian didn't know what would end up coming out of his mouth after this. But Don looked torn. Sebastian and Sean were his best friends, not to mention two of the most popular boys in school, though, in reality, Sebastian's stock would probably take a hit after their friends found out about this – and Sean would definitely make sure they found out. Either way, Don wasn't in a position socially to side against either of them, and high school had already been hard enough on Don as it was.

Sebastian knew that. He knew it wasn't fair to make him choose sides, not this way, so he made it easy on him.

"You know, I had a long night. I'm gonna go back to bed. You guys have fun riding ATVs. You can see yourselves out."

Sebastian saw the look of guilt and relief on Don's face. With any luck, maybe he'll be able to keep Don as a friend after this.

"Whatevs, jack off," Sean said, turning on his heel and strolling away like he couldn't care less. "Have fun fucking your freakazoid."

"Tell Kurt I said hi," Don said quietly. He tried to smile, but he looked dismayed, so he took off down the hallway to catch up with his friend.

"Will do," Sebastian said, watching them get to the staircase before walking back in his room and locking the door. He had planned to sneak back under the comforter and not get up again until sometime around lunch, but when he turned around, there was Kurt, sitting up on the floor, the comforter wrapped around his shoulders, sadness evident in his bright blue eyes. Sebastian sighed, wishing he had had the forethought to take his and Sean's confrontation downstairs before Sean had gotten too loud and insulting.

"How much did you hear?" Sebastian asked, sitting beside him on the floor, smiling when Kurt draped the end of the comforter around his shoulder.

"I think…most of it. Since he…took off the blanket? That's when I woke up." Kurt hung his head in embarrassment. "Sebastian, this isn't right." Kurt picked at the fur on the end of his tail, running his sharp nails idly through the tangles. "I don't want to come between you and your friends."

"Believe me," Sebastian said, inching closer, putting a hand on the floor as close to Kurt's leg as he could get without touching, "kicking Sean out of my house has been a long time coming. Besides, if he's going to act that way, to me and to you, then he isn't really my friend, is he?"

"No," Kurt said, trying not to smile at Sebastian's rationale. "I guess not."

Sebastian side-eyed Kurt, catching a glimpse of the tip of his pink tongue as it slid across the seam of his lips, drawing the bottom lip inside his mouth and nibbling on it. Sebastian swallowed hard. He didn't get it. Whatever this feeling was that he had with regard to Kurt, it was a complete mystery to him. But he had to let it go, at least for now.

"So, what do you want to do?" Sebastian asked before the silence between them could become awkward.

"Um, I don't know." Kurt turned his head to look out the window, at the sunlight shining through the drapes, making a bright spot on the floor. "It looks like such a nice day out, but…I kind of want to stay inside? And play more Assassin's Creed?"

"Yeah," Sebastian said, reaching over the half inch and patting Kurt's hand, Kurt's fur touching Sebastian's skin making his entire arm tingle, "I think that sounds like a great idea."


End file.
